Following Recent Earthquake, IsraAID Starts a New Mission in Mexico
On September 19, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit near Puebla, Mexico. It was the most powerful earthquakes to hit Mexico since 1985 and it had tragic outcomes. Over 230 people lost their lives and thousands of houses and buildings were damaged.
IsraAID sent a team to help.
The Israeli NGO is currently taking care of rebuilding schools again. The earthquakes affected indeed 1,527 schools in the state of Morelos alone, which is 84% of the state’s schools. The reconstruction phase for all the affected schools will reportedly take up to two years. In the meantime, the government plans to provide mobile classrooms.
On top of it, IsraAID will ensure safe water and hygiene and sanitation practices in schools. The current classrooms lack sufficient sanitation and hygiene facilities. For this reason, there has been an increase in the risk of water-borne and sanitation-related diseases among children.
IsraAID has also started a family mental health support program. Families are in urgent need of support to deal with post-trauma mental health issues, and to learn how to build resilience in both the family and school community unit.
The parent committee of Francisco Zarco in Cuernavaca were worried about their kids.
“Our children had not received classes for almost three months. Just like all children, they have a right to access education, and a right to return to a safe and stimulating learning environment. Our school might be damaged, our homes might be destroyed, but our hearts, dignity and determination are not. Thank you for helping to bring our children back to school and for supporting us in fighting for our children’s right to education.”
IsraAID installed 16 tents in this school in order for the 620 students to be able to return to class.
IsraAID is a leading humanitarian non-governmental organization, committed to providing life-saving emergency relief and durable solutions for populations affected by natural disasters, epidemics and post-conflict situations.
Content provided by IsraAID.
